pecking

[benz girl]

I'm new to having chicks. Mine are about 2 weeks old. We just moved them yesterday to a bigger area. They were in a very large box. We now have them in an area that is bigger. We are still working on the area they will be in so for now they are in our garage. We just put 4 doors together to make a 5x8 (give or take a little) area. The doors have windows so it is brighter. We added a few places for them to roost. I noticed today that 1 had blood by its back tail feathers. The others kept pecking at it. We thought it was from the roost so we took that down and then i noticed another with the same thing. We separated those 2 from the group and as i'm watching them i see another one with blood on its back and the others going after it. We now have 3 separated. I have heard we shouldn't separate them but i'm not sure what to do. They have plenty of food and water. We have the automatic feeders for them so i know they aren't hungry. Does anyone have any advice or know something i can try? I need to know why they are pecking each other and also what to do with the ones that are bleeding. Thanks.

 

[firedove]

Watch them close, you probably have one chick that is bloodying them. Once the other chicks see blood they will automatically start pecking. So find out who is doing the real damage and separate that one. The best way to separate them is with 1/2" hardware cloth or Plexiglas (hardware cloth is much cheaper) so they can see each other but can't get to each other. That keeps the camaraderie so they still know each other when you return them to the same pen.

 

[benz girl]

I just had to pull another one out and put it with the other "wounded" chicks. The separated ones are just laying around eating and drinking. They are better away from the others. I will see if i can find the culprit. I did notice 1 is pecking really bad on the wood. Is that normal or think that could be the one causing the damage? Also how long should i keep that one separate? I have plexiglass so i should be able to separate them pretty easy.

Thanks so much for your help. I REALLY APPRECIATE IT.

 

[firedove]

Keep it separate for two days and then try to put it back in with the group, as soon as you see it harassing other chicks take it out again and try in another 2 days. The single separated chick is going to be lonely. Some people put stuffed animals or feather dusters with no chemicals on them into the area with a single chick so she has something to cuddle up to.

Another trick I've heard from others is to put those little plastic jingle balls that they make for cats into the brooder to keep the chicks busy and not pecking at each other.

Also, what kind of light are you using? A red light will reduce pecking. White light can agitate them and cause more conflict. I tend to use a clear bulb in my brooders and have never had a problem but maybe I have just been lucky.

 

[benz girl]

I have a red light. I actually had someone else ask me about the light. I just happened to have a red light so that is what i used. I will make sure that is what i use from now on though.

I noticed a certain one pecking really bad on the wood. I looked at it better and noticed it looks like its beak is broken. I separated that one. I started looking at all of them and found 1 more that has a broken beak. I'm guessing it is broke because they don't line up at all. The top and bottom are really off and i never noticed that before. We have 29 and we now have 5 separated for bleeding and 2 with broken beaks (or whatever it is). My husband is wondering if the 2 with the broken beaks could of hit the roost and broke it if it is a broken beak.

I feel like i have no idea what i'm doing at all. They have been perfectly fine until today and all of a sudden everything is going wrong with these poor chicks. The box they were in was cardboard. I'm wondering if now they are pecking the same as they were before only its a harder surface. I thought we were helping them by putting them in a bigger area. Now i'm not so sure.